ient, as though he already owned my life. "You think you can resist it?" he said. "That curse doesn't belong to you. It belongs to us." The sigil on my palm burned hotter, shadows writhin

e first assassin lunged, blade slicing toward my ribs. I caught his wrist, twisting hard, and drove my knee into his gut. He crumpled, gagging. Another came from behind. I spun the rifle, its stock smashing into his jaw with a sickening crack. Teeth scattered across the dirt. A third slid low, daggers flashing toward my legs. I leapt back, shadows bursting from my palm, catching his wrist mid-strike. The force hurled him sideways into a tree, ribs crunching on impact. Gasps rippled through the circle. Fear. And something inside me loved it. "Yes... look how they fear us. More. Give me more!" The shadows writhed around me, heavier, darker, shaping themselves into jagged claws stretching from my arm. My breath came fast, my vision tunneling into red haze. One assassin swung at my back. I whipped the clawed shadows around, the strike catching his chest and tearing through armor. Blood sprayed as he hit the ground screaming. Another dove in. I lashed out, the claw smashing his blade in half, the broken steel spinning into the night. My palm followed, striking his chest with monstrous force. He flew backward like a rag doll, bones snapping on impact. The spirit inside roared with delight. "Yes! This is power. This is what you were born for!" I almost let go. Almost. The Father's Voice "Tokyo." The voice wasn't the spirit's. It was softer, calmer, my father's. Or maybe just my memory of him. "Strength without discipline is destruction." I froze. My knees buckled. The claws of shadow faltered, wavering in the air. The assassins hesitated, confused. The leader didn't. He lunged, crimson blade slashing down. I raised my cursed hand. The blade met the sigil with a scream of metal and shadow. Sparks flew, earth splitting beneath us as power collided. The impact hurled me backward. I slammed into a tree, bark exploding. Pain rippled through my body, but I forced myself up. I couldn't win. Not like this. I had to escape. The Chase I staggered toward the treeline, legs weak but moving. The assassins shouted, chasing after me. Blades whistled past, one grazing my arm, another thudding into the dirt inches away. The forest blurred. Branches whipped across my face. My breaths came ragged, each one burning my lungs. The spirit hissed, furious. "Coward! Why run when we can